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Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick

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Steves Junior Teaches Travel–Get Andy’s Take on “Flash-Packing” through Europe

Exactly one generation ago, I was giving talks all over town for free to let people dreaming about European travel know how to travel smart…and to talk up my guidebooks and tours. Today, my son Andy is doing much the same thing.

For 20 years we took Andy to Europe every year for a family vacation and to break up the time I was away from the family while working. I didn’t think Andy was paying attention. Now, just a few years out of Notre Dame, Andy is essentially living in Europe and running his own tour program (and I’m keeping a wary eye on what could become a formidable competitor).

Actually, as his dad, I am really proud of what Andy’s doing as he teaches college kids how to get the most travel experience out of their foreign-study semesters abroad.  Andy spends the early part of each semester on a blitz tour of European campuses that host Americans, giving his student travel talks to new arrivals. School administrators welcome Andy onto their campuses because they understand that there’s a huge educational potential in their students taking full advantage of the three-day weekends (there’s no class on Fridays) by traveling–and Andy can teach them how. With discount airlines these days, a cheap, three-day weekend anywhere in Europe is simply a matter of going online and booking a discount flight and a youth hostel.

Of course, like me, Andy’s teaching has an ulterior motive–to let potential tour members know about the tours he offers: three-day “Weekend Student Adventures” to cities like Barcelona, Budapest, Paris, Rome, and Krakow (for around $250 each). Andy and his band of student guides have enriched the study-abroad experiences of literally thousands of American students who have signed up on his WSA tours.

If I may be a proud dad, check out this video clip of my son teaching at a campus in London.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Calling All Cruisers

Mark your calendar for tomorrow’s live streaming travel classes (March 22, 9:00 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. Pacific Time). While I’m teaching Spain, Germany and Britain, a talk I’m particularly excited about is Cameron Hewitt’s amazing cruising talk. It’s actually three classes (roughly an hour long each) starting at 1:00 PST and taught in rapid succession: Cruising 101 (travel skills), Mediterranean Cruise Ports, and Northern European Cruise Ports.

A few years ago, after decades of having a bad attitude about cruising, I noticed cruisers using my guidebooks in European ports. I was impressed by these smart travelers’ determination to have a meaningful and culturally engaging experience while taking advantage of the economy and efficiency of cruising.

So I sent one of my co-authors, Cameron Hewitt, on several cruises to research and help write two guidebooks: Rick Steves’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports and Rick Steves’ Northern European Cruise Ports. Retooling our existing chapters on the great ports and adding everything a cruiser would need, Cameron did a great job. I followed after him to put my own touches on his writing. And the resulting new guidebooks are among our most popular.

Tomorrow, Cameron’s cruising talks will be jam-packed with practical tips about how to get from the port into town, and what to do with your limited time once there. While I’m proud of all of our travel advice, I think our cruising material is especially important. Cruise lines have no incentive to help you have a good time on your own in port. They’d rather you buy an excursion or stay on the ship to spend more money. So if you’re a Rick Steves traveler who wants to enjoy a cruise, you have to arm yourself with good information before you set sail. That’s where this class comes in.

If you or a friend plans to visit Europe on a cruise, don’t miss this talk.

Check out the full schedule!

R

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Watch my Talk about the Holy Land — Palestinians and Israelis Today

A few months ago, after a year with lots of travel in Palestine and Israel as I scouted and filmed my upcoming TV special on the Holy Land, I gave a talk about the region in my hometown of Edmonds, Washington. I enjoyed a very enthusiastic audience — both in person, and watching the streaming lecture online. Since many were unable to attend or view my talk, by popular demand, we’ve post-produced it to offer it here on our blog page.

This was my first time giving this talk, and it was a fun challenge to deal with contentious issues in a balanced way. While this video is fairly long, it’s packed with lessons. These issues are important, and (as with my Iran project a few years ago) I am so impressed by how little most Americans — myself included, before this trip — really know about the Holy Land.

I’d love your comments on this talk…but only after you’ve actually watched it. When the topic of the Holy Land is raised, many of us just spout off our preconceived ideas. And many of these ideas we hold very strongly, even though they are a result of American media rather than actually visiting the region in person. Our challenge is to hear both narratives and understand the context of the region’s challenges and the baggage of the people who live there. I hope this talk helps do exactly that.

The TV special I produced, “Rick Steves’ Holy Land: Palestinians and Israelis Today,” will air on public television stations across the USA this fall.

(By the way, the streaming of talks like this one is a new era for us as travel teachers. In the spirit of this talk, we’ll be streaming nine hours of travel talks — five of which I’ll be giving personally — for free this Saturday, March 22nd, starting at 9:00am Pacific Time. Learn more on our Live Webcast page. Don’t miss it!)

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Talking Up Iran in Oklahoma City

In 2009, public television stations across the country aired a one-hour special I produced about Iran. My goal: to offer a candid and humanizing look at a powerful country that most Americans know little about. Since I knew next to nothing about Iran before filming this special, I knew this project would be as much a learning experience for me as it was for my viewers.

Since then, I’ve enjoyed giving my talk about Iran all across the USA — and especially in famously conservative corners of our country. Earlier this year, I gave my Iran talk in Oklahoma City to a wonderful crowd for the public television station there. I was really happy with the talk, and thought I’d share it here.

The time and energy we invested in Rick Steves’ Iran reached a huge audience, and I think it was totally worthwhile. In the spirit of that project, this year we’re producing a special called Rick Steves’ Holy Land: Israelis and Palestinians Today. It will air early September 2014.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.